1) Technical Field
The subject invention relates to a method for a financial institution to obtain electronically-stored financial documents from an off-site storage system remotely-located from an on-site storage system.
2) Description of the Prior Art
Methods for obtaining electronically-stored financial documents are generally known in the art. Financial institutions, such as banks and credit unions, utilize such methods to rapidly and efficiently obtain financial documents for distribution to clients upon request. Such financial documents include paid checks, account statements, and other related documents. These financial documents are typically stored on microfiche, microfilm, digitally, or by some other electronic storage means. Further, these financial documents are typically electronically-stored in an on-site storage system located at the financial institution or in an off-site storage system. Electronic storage of these financial documents permits financial institutions to eliminate storage of paper or xe2x80x9chardxe2x80x9d copies of these documents. The electronic storage of these documents also provides a means of retrieving the information from the on-site and off-site storage systems.
Once the document is stored, the client may request an image of a particular stored document. Client requests are made to replace lost or stolen documents, for tax purposes, for proof of financial transactions, for legal disputes, and other similar matters. The client""s request is inputted into a computer terminal at the financial institution. More specifically, conventional methods for obtaining an electronically-stored financial document enable an employee of the financial institution, such as a bank teller, to input the request into an interface incorporated into the computer terminal. The interface is inter-linked with the on-site storage system. Typically, all requests for a particular period are grouped together and subsequently downloaded for retrieval of the requested image by the financial institution. The financial institution retrieves the image, e.g. a photocopy of the check, and then distributes the photocopy to the client via facsimile, mail or hand delivery. The storing, downloading, and retrieving of the financial document, including the reproduction and the distribution of the document, are known in the industry as back office production. Back office production for financial institutions is particularly resource intensive, time consuming, and expensive. Also, back office production becomes increasingly expensive if the client requests a particularly old financial document because older financial documents frequently require more resources and time to locate and retrieve.
The majority of financial institutions electronically store financial documents only in an on-site storage system and not in an off-site storage system. Consequently, these financial institutions are unable to outsource the responsibilities for the back office production to third party entities to alleviate the expenses and resources associated with the back office production. These financial institutions realize a significant financial burden since the back office production is concentrated strictly at the financial institution.
Other financial institutions do electronically store financial documents in on-site and off-site storage systems. However, the methods utilized by these financial institutions to access the financial documents stored in the off-site storage system are deficient in that the interface utilized in such methods is only inter-linked with the on-site storage system. That is, there is no interface independently inter-linked with the off-site storage system. As a result, the financial documents stored in the off-site storage system can not be efficiently accessed. These financial institutions are still responsible for retrieving the requested financial documents through their back office production and their expenses remain high. One such method of retrieving documents from on-site and off-sited storage systems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,610 to Copeland, III et al.
Due to the inefficiencies identified in the conventional methods used by financial institutions to obtain financial documents, it is desirable to implement a method for a financial institution to obtain electronically-stored financial documents from both on-site and off-site storage systems that reduces, if not eliminates, the back office production of the financial institution by providing a direct interface inter-linked with the off-site storage system. With such an interface, the responsibility for retrieving financial documents from the off-site storage can be outsourced to third party entities while still providing the financial institution with efficient access to any financial documents electronically-stored in the off-site storage system.
A method for a financial institution to obtain electronically-stored financial documents having a specific document parameter is disclosed. The specific document parameter is typically a particular numerical sequence, such as a record date of the financial document. The method of the subject invention enables the financial institution to obtain the financial documents from an off-site storage system. The off-site storage system is remotely-located from an on-site storage system. The financial documents of the financial institution are maintained in the off-site storage system when the specific document parameter of the financial document is greater than a predetermined parameter. The financial documents that are less than or equal to the predetermined parameter are maintained in the on-site storage system.
When the financial institution receives a request for a financial document, the financial institution compares the specific document parameter of the requested financial document to the predetermined parameter to determine if the specific document parameter is greater than, less than, or equal to the predetermined parameter. A computer terminal located at the financial institution is connected to both the off-site and on-site storage systems. The computer terminal is utilized to access one of the storage systems in response to the comparison of the specific document parameter to the predetermined parameter. For instance, if it is determined that the specific document parameter is less than or equal to the predetermined document parameter, then the computer terminal accesses the on-site storage system. On the other hand, if it is determined that the specific document parameter of the financial document is greater than the predetermined parameter, then the computer terminal accesses the off-site storage system.
After the computer terminal accesses the appropriate storage system, identification data of the requested financial document is inputted into the computer. More specifically, to access the on-site storage system, the identification data is input into a primary interface that is specifically inter-linked with the on-site storage system. To access the off-site storage system, an exit function is selected at the primary interface and the identification data is then input into a secondary interface that is initiated upon selection of the exit function. The secondary interface is specifically inter-linked with the off-site storage system.
Finally, after the identification data of the requested financial document is inputted, the requested document is then retrieved in order to reproduce the financial document, and distribute the financial document to an end user of the financial institution.
The subject invention therefore provides a method that enables financial institutions to obtain electronically-stored financial documents from an off-site storage system via a secondary interface that is specifically inter-linked with the off-site storage system and the financial documents electronically-stored in that system. As such, the financial institution can selectively store financial documents in either an on-site storage system or the off-site storage system, and the responsibility for the financial documents in the off-site storage system can be outsourced to a third party entity. Therefore, the back office production of the financial institution associated with the retrieval and distribution of financial documents stored in the off-site storage system is strategically reduced or even completely eliminated.